On Mother’s Day, 4 hit producers who are also successful mothers

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Film production business has been primarily dominated by male producers until recent times. The last few years have witnessed some driven women don the producer’s hat and call the shots. Some of these women are not just producers, but successful entrepreneurs who dabble with their work, family and children all at the same time.  While they are authoritative and assertive on film sets, they are doting mothers at home.

This Mother’s Day, we have listed those female producers who have created a niche for themselves in Hindi cinema by managing parenthood with equal elan.

Gauri Khan (Red Chillies Entertainment)

Gauri Khan has been a hands-on producer with many successful films such as Main Hoon Na, Om Shanti Om and Chennai Express and the recently released Darlings.  With the high buzz for her latest release Jawan, it is likely to be a blockbuster. Gauri Khan is also the owner of her luxury interiors label as well as the co-owner of Kolkata Knight Riders.

She is the doting mother to three children – Aryan, Suhana and AbRam. Gauri is often seen posting pictures of her chilling with her youngest son, or helping her daughter dress up for social events. She is also seen spending a lot of time with them over family lunches, school events and as also getting her two kids ready to enter the Indian film industry. Known for her classic style statements, a boss lady at her work place and a friendly mother at home, Gauri, also Shah Rukh Khan’s wife, proves that women can indeed rule the home, if not the world.

Deepshikha Deshmukh (Pooja Entertainment)

One of the youngest women producers, Deepshikha Deshmukh started her career with a strong and impactful film, Sarbjit, starring Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Randeep Hooda. She has been one of the game-changing producers, who has evolved with the changing taste of audiences and backed projects like the late Irrfan Khan’s Madaari, the critically-acclaimed Punjabi film Sarvann, where she partnered with Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Jawaani Jaaneman, Coolie No.1 and Cuttputlli.

Her hands are full, as her production house Pooja Entertainment has a robust line-up for 2023 and 2024. For 2023, they have announced India’s first dystopian action thriller, Ganapath starring Tiger Shroff and Kriti Sanon, releasing on 20 October 20 (Dussehra). She has recently-blocked Eid 2024 for the action comedy franchise Bade Miyan Chote Miyan starring Akshay Kumar and Tiger Shroff. Along with being a film producer, she is the founder of a skin-care range, ‘Love Organically’.

While working on films and managing her business, she is a proud mother of two young children. She is often seen taking time out to spend her time in nature along with her kids. Like any other mother, she often takes to social media and shares glimpses from her son’s football matches, their travel diaries and the time spent in their village, Latur. Her kids accompany her on film sets too when they are on vacation and are nature warriors, learning ways of kindness and green living at a tender age. She is Riteish Deshmukh’s sister and producer Vashu Bhagnani’s daughter-in-law.

Ektaa R. Kapoor (Balaji Motion Pictures)    

She is a force to reckon with. Jeetendra’s daughter started her career with television production and is now taking giant leaps in film production as well.  Her production company, Balaji Motion Pictures, have an eclectic slate for 2023 that includes the sequel Dream Girl 2 starring Ayushmann Khurrana and Ananya Panday, The Crew starring Tabu, Kareena Kapoor Khan and Kriti Sanon, another untitled film featuring Kareena Kapoor Khan helmed by Hansal Mehta.

She became a mother to a baby boy through surrogacy in 2019 and is seen sharing her struggles at motherhood.  Her brother, Tusshar, is the one she often turns to for advice on parenting. While managing her production house, she also takes time out to time to throw birthday parties for her son, spend quality time and never miss an opportunity to make things unique for him. Ektaa now is a regular at birthday parties in the industry, school meetings and functions and ensures she shares glimpses from her son’s life on social media.

Ashwini Iyer Tiwari (Earth Sky Pictures)

Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari is one of those film producers who has a unique voice in terms of a mix of her commercial and content-driven films. With films like Nil Battey Sannata, Bareilly ki Barfi, Panga and the recently-released Faadu, she has cemented her position as a filmmaker who breaks stereotypes and entertains the audience as well. She also manages her production house with her husband and National award-winning director, Nitesh Tiwari. This year, they will be coming up with Bawaal starring Varun Dhawan and Janhvi Kapoor, which is a love story.

Even with busy schedules in directing and producing films, she manages her household and is a dutiful mother to two children.  She has been seen sharing images of her family get-togethers and outings, and is constantly interacting with her children even if it is on a video call while shooting.